Let's Talk About Fear, Illusions, and Chinese Spy Balloons

Yes, these are perilous times, but we’re looking at this all wrong.

Recent headlines. Change the names of victims, towns, universities, and schools, but they’re all the same.

• MASS SHOOTER KILLS ____ (fill in the blank with a number)

• CRAZED DRIVER PLOWS TRUCK INTO CROWD KILLING ____ AND INJURING ____

• MOTHER STRANGLES CHILDREN (or drowns them or shoots them)

Add all of the political accusations and charges, and you begin to see a disturbing pattern. We’re getting worse at this experiment in liberty that we call the United States of America. 

Now, just when we thought we’d seen it all, someone yells out “BALLOONS,” and suddenly, we’re worried about the Chinese dumping nuclear waste or biotoxins on us from 60,000 feet up.

Yes, it does seem worse, but the truth is, the world has always been a hostile place to all of humanity. At any given moment throughout human history, human life is contingent on a thousand different variables. 

A car veers into your lane and drives your engine into the passenger compartment, killing you instantly. You’re beaten and denied basic human rights because your skin pigment is different. A bolt falls from a jetliner, pierces the roof of your truck, and travels through your brain like a bullet. 

Since Cain bashed his brother’s head in with a rock till this very day, we’re all in danger. I don’t suspect that anything is going to change about that any time soon. Depressing, huh? 

Well, of course it is, especially if a person’s life is measured only by the air he or she breathes or the steps they take on the planet’s surface. I, however, measure my life by something far more enduring. My sense of self-worth is calculated by who I serve, and I serve the Almighty, the God who created me.

Take a few moments today and meditate on some of the scriptures that tell us who he is and how worthy he is of our adoration. When you begin to “get” the awesomeness of God, you’ll wake up and realize one day that you aren’t living in fear of the unknown variables anymore.  

Holy, holy, holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is, and is to come!

—Revelation 4:8

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!” 

—Revelation 5:13

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world. 

—Psalm 19:1-4

These are just a few of the passages that tell of God’s majesty and glory. All we have to do is take a gander at creation, and we can know that God is real. He’s left his mark on everything.

So, in these perilous times (that reflect all of the other perilous times of history), I would encourage you to wake up from your slumber and realize that nothing in this world will sustain you. Nothing will give you peace of mind. Nothing will still your agitated heart. Nothing can keep you safe. It’s all an illusion. Only the holy God of all creation can do that. 

Therefore, I encourage you to worship him! Adore him! And pursue him harder than you’ve ever run after anything in your life. You won’t regret it!

Image credit: Department of Defense